keyhole....

File this under map-geekery, and cool-tools via the internet. For all of you who have read "Snow Crash" and dreamed about the metaverse tool "Earth" the internet has taken a step closer to that idea. (In the book, "Earth" was a global mapping app that you could use like a desktop globe but all the imagery was near realtime video from satelites). Keyhole (www.keyhole.com) approaches that ideal with a computerized desktop globe app where all the info comes from either Landsat (low-res) or hi-res (1-2ft per pixel) imagery. But what makes it particularly neato, is that you can check out other people's placemarkers which may be there to point out weird patterns in the mohave, or advertise a certain club. The problem is that it costs money, but check out the 7-day trial. It's really cool.